Reef Central Online Community

Home Forum Here you can view your subscribed threads, work with private messages and edit your profile and preferences View New Posts View Today's Posts

Find other members Frequently Asked Questions Search Reefkeeping ...an online magazine for marine aquarists Support our sponsors and mention Reef Central

Go Back   Reef Central Online Community Archives > General Interest Forums > Do It Yourself
FAQ Calendar Today's Posts Search

 
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
  #26  
Old 08/03/2007, 06:14 AM
norskfisk norskfisk is offline
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Norway
Posts: 84
2-part Polyurethane or epoxy paint is worth a try. It gives a much better heat exhange than a double loop with plastic insulation between the liquids. So I would go for than. Make sure you do it right. Correct mixing rates, sand and clean metal first, high quality paint with no metal pigments.

But my real advice is swallow your pride and buy a 1/2 HP professional chiller. In the end, for most people, it is just not worth it making your own chiller.
__________________
Jon Olav
  #27  
Old 08/03/2007, 07:20 AM
BeanAnimal BeanAnimal is offline
Premium Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Pittsburgh
Posts: 11,710
Yeah the epoxy is also a short lived option. The extreme temperature changes and expansion contrcation will cause premature failure of just about any coating that you paint onto the coils.
  #28  
Old 08/03/2007, 07:28 AM
MeuserReef MeuserReef is offline
nucleosynthesis baby!
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Houston, TX ----- Origin: Charlotte, NC
Posts: 927
I got (2) 18" pieces of 1/2" OD Titanium for under $20 for my chiller barrel off of eBay.
__________________
"You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus." - Mark Twain
  #29  
Old 08/03/2007, 08:54 AM
MeuserReef MeuserReef is offline
nucleosynthesis baby!
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Houston, TX ----- Origin: Charlotte, NC
Posts: 927
Quote:
Originally posted by norskfisk
But my real advice is swallow your pride and buy a 1/2 HP professional chiller.
I agree with this... to an extent, however.... if you are capable of doing it yourself.... why not? The one thing that made this project appealing to me was that it was a split system, meaning that it pumps all of the heat outside of your house. Large chillers put off alot of heat and thats usually lowering a tank only a few degrees. I can only imagine how much heat a 1/2 HP chiller would pump into your room while keeping your tank at 55*!!

I think it would be more long the lines of:

"Swallow your wallet and your power bill and buy a 1/2 HP professional chiller"
__________________
"You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus." - Mark Twain
  #30  
Old 08/03/2007, 11:13 PM
airinhere airinhere is offline
Slowly growing gills.
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Elk Grove
Posts: 790
Ya know, I think Meuser Reef has a very good point. Plus, I have a serious form of social disability.

I have almost no money.

But I am smart, and I am good with my hands.

When I undertake a hobby, I do not just buy the tank, and pay someone to maintain it for me and call myself a reefer. I have to work at a LFS for a while so I get lots of exposure to what can happen in a saltwater reef. I use my carpentry skills to make my own stands and hoods. I learn about aragocrete and create custom reefscapes for all my tanks. I retrofit and customize all my lighting rigs. Skimmers are drilled. Sumps are modified with removeable baffles for stopping microbubbles.
I just finished getting certified for Scuba and intend to not only dive for my own organisms, but am studying everything I can find about the underwater realm I am about to experience. I will then bring the creatures I found in the ocean home and put them into my very customized aquaria. Gotta keep the coldwater critters cold, so I guess a little DIY chiller is coming up.

You know the funny part? I would be just as crazed about how I conduct my reefkeeping as I am right now even if I had unlimited money available.

It might not look like a store bought system, but I believe the real joy in reefkeeping is making a reeftank your own and bringing it to life.
__________________
I ain't there yet, but I'm getting better everyday.
  #31  
Old 08/04/2007, 12:21 AM
krikor krikor is offline
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: NW Philadelphia PA
Posts: 313
Totally agree with that, i build everything i can. its more of a hobby that way too, instead of a show.
__________________
Yes, Krikor is my real name...
DVRC Respect
_____________________________
  #32  
Old 08/04/2007, 05:54 PM
norskfisk norskfisk is offline
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Norway
Posts: 84
Quote:
Originally posted by BeanAnimal
Yeah the epoxy is also a short lived option. The extreme temperature changes and expansion contrcation will cause premature failure of just about any coating that you paint onto the coils.
Why is that? The metal tubes can take the temperature changes. There are elastic epoxy coatings, much more elastic than metals I guess. Is it the difference between expansion rates?
__________________
Jon Olav
  #33  
Old 08/05/2007, 08:48 AM
BeanAnimal BeanAnimal is offline
Premium Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Pittsburgh
Posts: 11,710
I would suspect that it is a combination of fatigue of the bond between the materials and the cold temperatures changing the properties of the coating.

A coating thick enough to be very durable is also going to be an insulator.
 


Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:35 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Use of this web site is subject to the terms and conditions described in the user agreement.
Reef Central™ Reef Central, LLC. Copyright ©1999-2009